Monthly Archives: August 2024
The Vocabulary of Touch
In His Hands
The scriptures tell us that our very existence and the human condition are not controlled by those aggressors who would attack, persecute or oppress us. It’s said that God doesn’t create junk. We are all individuals with different personalities, wants and needs. Our lives are in His hands; indeed, as this beautifully performed one-act play opens, theatergoers hear a voice in the darkness singing, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” But the title of Benjamin Benne’s gay romantic comedy might also be referring to someone special in each of our lives who lovingly holds our heats and best interests in his hands, as well.
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Bustin’ Out All Over
Carousel
Chicagoland audiences are in for a magical and moving musical treat with Music Theater Works’ second production of its 2024 season. Showcasing one of the best of the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon, this exquisite presentation follows their incredible production of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. The company’s latest offering is a seldom-produced romantic musical by America’s iconic composer and lyricist team. Based upon “Liliom,” Ferenc Molnar’s tragic 1909 drama, this gorgeous musical, like their first hit, OKLAHOMA, became another groundbreaker in American theatre back in 1945, with its antihero, dark themes and poignant ending. And Music Theater Works’ new production, so full of talent, is simply “bustin’ out all over.”
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Down the Hole
Alice By Heart
Bombs are exploding everywhere and the sirens are directing everyone to take shelter. Wading through the debris, everyone heads down the hole into the Tube Station for safety. It’s 1941 and the London Blitz of WWII is in full force. The English refugees are a mixed lot. They include a no-nonsense Doctor, a brusque Red Cross Nurse, a spoiled young man and woman, who are clearly of the upper crust, as well as a variety of British commoners. But when teenaged Alice Spencer and her dear friend Alfred join the group seeking shelter, we learn that the young man is very sick and must be quarantined. Alfred is afflicted with incurable tuberculosis and, unfortunately, doesn’t have much time left in his young life. Thus, the fragile and filmy quality of Time weaves throughout the theme of this new musical, now enjoying its Midwest Premiere in Chicago.
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Ginger Minj Presents
Big Gay Cabaret
Ring out the news! Two of Chicago’s most famous and best-loved LGBTQIA+ cabaret performers are performing for only two nights at the Mercury Theater in their monthly Big Gay Cabaret series. This time, the shows are practically sellouts, with two performances scheduled, not in the more intimate Venus Cabaret venue but, due to popular demand, in the mainstage theater. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the lovely, cleverly comic, multi-gifted Alexandra Billings and Honey West. These two hilarious storytellers and talented songsters appear together in a wonderful cabaret show, presented by Ginger Minj, from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
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Magic Soaring Up into the Sky
Peter and the Starcatcher
Are you a fan of magic that soars up into the sky? Of books, films and plays that, like “Wicked,” provide a backstory for characters from other classic stories? If so, you’ll be excited and totally enchanted by this hilarious, highly imaginative play, which is the opening production of Paramount’s 2024-25 Bold Series at the Copley Theatre. The 2012 multi-Tony Award-winner was based upon a novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson entitled Peter and the Starcatchers. But in addition to presenting a captivating new story, theatergoers will learn how a character named Boy gained his new name, Peter Pan, who is Molly and what’s her relationship to Wendy, how the Mermaids and Tinker Bell came to be, who were the Lost Boys, how Hook really lost his hand and earned his new moniker, whence came Mister Grin the ticking crocodile, how Peter decided to call his island Neverland and how Peter Pan learned how to fly.
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